KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

Bennett Ring cracks his knuckles and gets tapping to find the best gaming keyboards under $170.

When it comes to gaming, there’s really only one choice of keyboard. We compare the best mechanical ‘boards for under $170.

When it comes to gaming, there’s really only one choice of keyboard — a mechanical keyboard. These products use a very different kind of switch behind each key compared to a standard office keyboard, one that is more predictable, faster and easier to tell when it’s been actuated. We’ll go into more detail about how mechanical keys work compared to other key types later, but there’s one slight problem, though — these keys are a lot more expensive than the ones used in basic office keyboards. As you read this article, you’ll see that most mechanical gaming keyboards retail for around $150, which is about twice the price of a decent office keyboard. However, many come with a bunch of other features aimed specifically at gamers, helping to offset this price difference.

Another issue with mechanical keyboards is they’re, generally speaking, a lot louder than a normal keyboard. If you’re living with a gaming flatmate who uses one, expect to be able to hear each and every key click from at least 10 metres away, which isn’t fun if you sleep next door to the gaming den. Thankfully, there are mechanical keyboards that aren’t quite as loud, but most gamers choose the louder types.

We’re going to explain to you what makes a mechanical keyboard so different to a standard office keyboard, focusing mainly on the switch type behind each key. As mentioned, Cherry MX basically dominates the switches used behind the keys in mechanical keyboards, so we’re going to focus especially on their products. There are other mechanical switches now hitting the market, but Cherry has built up such a huge presence that it’s become the switch type of choice. We’ll also explain other features to look for, such as n-key rollover (which is basically irrelevant these days) and anti-ghosting. Note that we’ve focused on affordable keyboards, under the $170 price barrier.

HOW WE TESTED

As most of these keyboards are based on the same Cherry MX keys, their tactile feedback is very similar, depending on the choice of colour. Even those keyboards with non-Cherry keys felt almost identical, as they’re basically copies of Cherry keys. We tested with three games — Battlefield 4, World of Warcraft and League of Legends, and found that the difference between each keyboard came down to ergonomics, features, software and price.